Class of 1998
by jojobear
Summary: It's the Ducks' senior year, their year to rule the school. However, there is not only the impudent JV team to deal with, but individuals have their own traumas. Connie falls for an old friend, Adam struggles to keep up his grades, Charlie's mother rema
1. Good Old Days

~ Class of 1998 ~  
It's 1997, the Ducks' twelfth-grade year, their year to rule Eden Hall. However, now that they're seniors and the Varsity team, they encounter new problems. The Ducks, once bullied themselves, now find it hard not to look down on the JV team. Each individual also have their own problems. Connie finds herself drawn to an old friend, Adam struggles to keep his 4.0 GPA, and Charlie must reconcile family difficulties.  
  
~ GOOD OLD DAYS ~ (Connie)  
"Are you almost done packing, honey?" Mrs. Moreau asked gently, rapping on the door.  
  
"Yeah, almost." Connie opened the door to let her mother in.  
  
"Very good." Mrs. Moreau smiled as she stared at Connie's bags, that for once, were neatly packed. "I think you may be getting the hang of packing, Connie."  
  
"Too bad this is my last year at Eden Hall." Connie laughed.  
  
"Well, at least now you'll be prepared for college." Mrs. Moreau smoothed Connie's hair, then stared at her daughter intently. "I can't believe it, my first baby, in her last year of high school."  
  
'I can't believe it, either.' Connie thought, many hours later. She glanced at the group of laughing boys sitting near her in the airport waiting area. Guy Germain and Greg Goldberg were reading Sports Illustrated (swimsuit edition) while chomping on a bag of gummy bears; Les Averman and Charlie Conway were playing some sort of card game that involved betting candy; Adam Banks was showing Fulton Reed some new hockey move or other that he'd no doubt come up with.  
  
Hockey. It was hockey that had brought her and this bizarre bunch of boys together. It seemed just yesterday that Mr. Moreau had signed Connie up for the peewee hockey league. Mr. Moreau had played hockey in college, and was crazy about it. Unfortunately, there were no Moreau boys. So, Mr. Moreau decided that at least ONE of his children should play hockey, and since Connie was the oldest, it was Connie that Mr. Moreau sent to play hockey. Connie remembered walking to her first practice, clutching her brand new gear, with Charlie Conway and Terry and Jesse Hall. She had been quaking in her shoes then, imaging the body checks she was sure she would receive from rough hockey players. As soon as Connie stepped out onto the icy pond, she had discovered that not only was Team District 5 nowhere near being talented enough to body check anybody, Connie was the toughest player on the team, except for Guy.  
  
Connie burst into giggles when she thought about Guy Germain. He had been her first crush, her first "love", her first boyfriend, her first kiss, just about her first everything.  
  
"What are you giggling about?" Charlie Conway nudged her, then held out the one-pound bag of skittles he had bought. "Skittle?"  
  
"Thanks." Connie took a handful of the colorful candy. "I was just thinking about what a bunch of nerds we were when we first started."  
  
"When we were District 5, you mean?" Averman raised his eyebrows.  
  
At the mention of the very first version of the Mighty Ducks, Connie, Averman, and Charlie all burst out laughing.  
  
"Hey! Banksie made up this move, okay? I'm just trying it out." Fulton glared at the three of them defensively.  
  
"Don't worry Fulton; we're not laughing at you." Charlie reassured.  
  
"But now that you've brought it to our attention, that move is pretty stupid. I think Banksie must be losing his golden touch." Averman added. Adam shrugged modestly in response.  
  
Fulton chose to ignore Averman's comment. "Well, what were you guys laughing at, then?"  
  
"I was just reminding Charlie and Averman about District 5." Connie informed. She took a skittle and threw it at Goldberg's head. "Hey Goldberg! Remember how you used to run away when a puck came at you? And that one time when Coach Bombay taped you to the…"  
  
"Shh! Don't you DARE say anything about the whole puck paranoia around Gaffney or Coach Orion." Goldberg shuddered as he looked up from his magazine.  
  
"Even I remember that." Adam laughed. "When I was with the Hawks, Coach Riley always told us that if we got ahead by a certain score, then he would let us aim the pucks at you for fun."  
  
"Figures that'd be something Hawks would do." Goldberg folded his arms over his chest and crammed a gummy bear in his mouth.  
  
"What was it that Jesse used to call you, Banksie?" Guy furrowed his eyebrow.  
  
"Are you talking about Cake-Eater?" Connie said.  
  
"Cake-eater." Fulton punched Adam playfully.  
  
"He was also with the Varsity our first year at Eden Hall," Averman supplied.  
  
"How come you're always the traitor, Banksie?" Guy asked.  
  
"Because he's our best player!" Charlie said, giving Adam an affectionate hug. "He's so good that everybody wants to recruit him. They'd be crazy not to! We're just lucky that he's had the stupidity to stay with us." Just then, the boarding for their flight began. The Ducks all picked up their luggage. Connie did, too.  
  
"Hey Connie, remember when we used to be a couple? Back in the good old days?" Guy called. He, Goldberg, and Averman were near the end of the boarding line, while Connie, Adam, and Charlie were near the front. The entire line turned to stare at Guy, then swiveled around again to stare and wait for Connie's response. Connie felt herself turn red. Goldberg and Averman were chanting the sitting in a tree kissing rhyme, while Adam was humming the wedding song, with Charlie making kissing noises that went in time to Adam's humming.  
  
Ignoring Guy's question, Connie kicked Charlie and Adam, the only ones she could physically reach at the moment. "Just kidding, Connie." Adam laughed, seeing her red-face. Charlie kept up his kissing noises.  
  
Connie shoved Charlie. "Get moving Conway, it's your turn." Charlie turned and began walking, but continued making loud kissing noises as they boarded the plane, earning both of them odd looks from the flight attendants.1 


	2. Varsity!

~ VARSITY! ~ (Charlie)  
"Are you almost ready?" Charlie stood at the doorway of his dorm room. He glared at his roommate, Adam Banks, impatiently. "Come on Banksie, what's taking you so long? I do believe that as the roommate of the captain, you have been told thoroughly that it is important to be on time for practices, most especially the first practice, which starts in five minutes?"  
  
"Mmhm…" Adam responded absently, still scribbling furiously away on a pad of paper.  
  
"Come on! Linda is coming to do an article about the new hockey teams." Charlie rolled his eyes. "You of all people should know how badly it would reflect on the Varsity team if the captain and star player were late on the first practice." Not to mention that Charlie wanted to impress his ex-girlfriend. He and Linda had broken up at the end of freshman year, and Charlie had only dated around since then, and he found himself wistfully thinking of Linda once more.  
  
"All right, I'm done." Adam leaned back. He tore out the pad of paper, folded it up, and stuffed it into an envelope, already addressed and stamped. "I just need to drop this off on the way." Adam told Charlie. He slung his gym bag over his shoulder and the two headed out for the hockey rink.  
  
Charlie took the envelope from Adam. It was addressed to his parents. "Man, you're writing to your parents already?"  
  
"Yeah. They like to be informed." Adam shrugged.  
  
Charlie stared at Adam incredulously. "Dude, you're way responsible." By the time that Adam dropped his letter off, Charlie and Adam were approximately ten minutes late to the first official practice of the Eden Hall Varsity team. Charlie was not surprised to see that his ex-girlfriend, Linda Chavez, was already in the stands, with her pen and notebook. Linda was always punctual. For the year that she had dated Charlie, she'd never kept him waiting on dates. Often, it would be her that had to wait around for Charlie to show up.  
  
"Well, if it isn't Mr. You-Guys-Have-to-Show-Up-On-Time-or-You're-in-Big-Doo-Doo." Julie Gaffney said with her hands on her hips as Charlie and Adam skated out onto the ice in practice gear.  
  
"That's a nice way to greet your captain, Cat." Charlie responded. "Could've at least said you missed me over the summer. That goes for the rest of you, too." Charlie said to all the members of the team who did not reside in Minnesota.  
  
"Aw, don't mind Julie; I missed ya, Charlie." Dwayne grinned, then he held out the lasso he had in his hand. "Say, how 'bout our favorite warm-up game?"  
  
"Thanks, Dwayne, and excellent suggestion." Charlie nodded. "Get your camera ready, Linda!" Charlie called out to the stands. Linda waved at him and held up her camera. "Let's go Dwayne!" Charlie skated away. The regular game of Cowboy ensued, with Dwayne swinging his lasso high over his head, looping every Duck on the ice that he could. Charlie was pleased that he was one of the last people to get lassoed. Of course, Louis Mendoza was the last to be lassoed, he always was now that he had fully mastered his skating techniques. He put on quite a show that practice, expertly dodging and avoiding Dwayne's lasso for a full minute before Dwayne managed to catch him.  
  
"Excellent skating, Mendoza. I'll be very surprised if the Olympics committee isn't on us this year to cast you as a speed skater." Coach Orion skated out onto the ice then. It was tradition that Orion stood by and allowed the Ducks to warm up on their own. "And that was some excellent lasso-work, Robertson."  
  
"Thanks Coach." Dwayne and Louis both grinned appreciatively.  
  
"I see that MOST of you have been practicing skating over the summer." Coach Orion looked at Goldberg witheringly. At this the entire team gave in to snickers. Goldberg was no fan of skating, hence his being a goalie, and avoided being on wheels or blades at all costs. Coach Orion seemed even more determined to make his goalie skate ever since Goldberg's miraculous goal at the big JV vs. Varsity showdown three years ago. Charlie knew for a fact that Goldberg hadn't done any kind of training in skating since he left Eden Hall and escaped Coach Orion's watchful eye.  
  
"You better give it up Coach," Guy said. "You'll never get Goldberg to skate during off-season."  
  
"There's still hope…now, number off in two's, and let's do some scrimmaging. Let me see how much you've all put off practicing in the summer, also lets me get a rough estimate of how long it'll take us to get back in shape again." Coach Orion blew his whistle.  
  
The Ducks, after numbering off, skated out to the ice. It was a furious scrimmage. Charlie played his best, for he had trained in the off-season, for once. The training definitely paid off. Charlie stole the puck easily away from Guy, who had a dazed looked about him. Guy was one of the team members that would not train unless Charlie personally went to his house and knocked at the door. Charlie spied Goldberg, fidgeting in the goal. Then, before Charlie could comprehend what had happened, Adam was sailing by, going the other way, with the puck in his control. Adam, on the other hand, always trained, and he trained even more vigorously than Charlie.  
  
"Come back here Banksie!" Charlie called, then skated off after Adam. But it was too late. Adam weaved expertly through the players, and made a swift goal that not even Julie could stop.  
  
"Excellent Banks! Excellent!" Coach Orion called from the box. "The rest of you need to switch off of granny mode!"  
  
By the end of practice, Charlie was thoroughly exhausted. So were all his fellow teammates, with the exception of Adam, who looked like he could very well carry on for the next twenty-four hours. "Not bad, not bad at all for a first practice." Coach Orion murmured, stroking his chin as the fatigued Ducks sat down on the bench. "We'll have the best high school hockey team in the entire country if things keep improving. Now, I believe you campus celebrities have an interview with an aspiring reporter." Coach Orion gestured to Linda, who was making her way down the stands. "Good day to you." Coach Orion skated off.  
  
Linda climbed into the box and clicked on her tape recorder. "So! This is our old and VERY controversial Junior Varsity hockey team, now promoted to Varsity. What do you guys have to say, now that you are the Varsity?" Linda held out the tape recorder. Charlie, normally the spokesman of the team, found that he was speechless. For some reason, Linda looked very good to him right now, even better than she'd looked when they first met. Her dark hair shone and her brown eyes fairly sparkled.  
  
After a long pause, Guy called out, "We're the Varsity team and we're going to rule the school!" Dean Portman whistled in agreement.  
  
"Have you met any of the Junior Varsity members yet?" Linda asked, staring directly at Charlie. Everyone else waited for his response, too. Charlie opened his mouth, but nothing came out.  
  
It was Adam that saved the day. "No, but I think I can say on behalf of the team that we're all looking forward for a chance to work with our younger counterparts and teach them all we can about hockey." And it was Adam that led the rest of the interview. Linda finally clicked off her tape recorder.  
  
"Well, thank you all for the interview." She stood up and left. Charlie sat, staring at her until she went out of sight.  
  
"Yoo-hoo!" Averman passed his hand over Charlie's face.  
  
That snapped him out of his stupor. "Come on you smelly pigs, let's go to the locker room and wash off." Charlie said, trying to pretend that he hadn't zoned off during the interview. Snickering about Charlie's obvious gawking at Linda, the team skated off the ice. Charlie showered quickly and pulled on his clothes. He and the rest of the boys walked outside.  
  
"Is that the JV team I see?" Louis asked, pointing at a group of skinny boys that were heading their way.  
  
"They're scrawny and they're holding hockey gear, I'd say your chances are pretty good." Fulton shrugged.  
  
"How come I don't like the looks of those monkeys?" Goldberg frowned.  
  
"What monkeys? I thought we weren't allowed to have pets on campus." Julie joined them.  
  
"Goldberg was referring to the JV team." Charlie said, nodding his head toward the group of boys that were coming closer. "Where's Connie?"  
  
"She's still showering and preening. You couldn't have forgotten about her extensive grooming habits, could you, Charlie?" Julie grinned.  
  
"No. I don't think I ever will, either." Charlie rolled his eyes. He and Connie had lived in the same apartment building for most of their lives, and they had been friends long before either of them had ever heard of such a thing as peewee hockey. Charlie had learned long ago that, in order to get Connie ready on time, he had to lie and tell her that she needed to show up fifteen minutes earlier.  
  
"Hey you!" Dean called to the approaching group of boys. "Are you the JV team?"  
  
"Yeah…why else do you think we'd be carrying gym bags that read Eden Hall Junior Varsity Hockey?" A freckle-faced boy said, rolling his eyes. "Let me guess, you're the Varsity? The Eden Hall Mighty Ducks, right?"  
  
"Yeah. You got a problem with that?" Dean narrowed his eyes.  
  
"No…the idea of DUCKS is pretty absurd though." The boy said. His teammates all snickered. "I mean, DUCKS. Have you ever thought about how ridiculous that sounds? I preferred Warrior."  
  
Charlie threw out his arm in order to prevent Dean from getting to the boy. "No," Charlie told Dean firmly. "We can't have friction between the Varsity and JV just yet. Give them a chance. Varsity never gave us a chance when we were JV, right?"  
  
"Yeah, but we weren't half as obnoxious as these PUNKS." Dean said angrily.  
  
"I wouldn't be so sure of that." Charlie laughed, remembering the wise-cracks all of them had enjoyed making at the Varsity. Then he turned to the JV team. "Well, it was a pleasure to make your acquaintance. I look forward to training with you sometime. Come on, let's go." Charlie walked past the JV team. The freckle-faced boy purposely stood in his way. Charlie couldn't help but shoulder him aside. After all, he WAS captain of the Varsity team, and who told the captain of the JV team that they had the right to be pert to the Varsity team? 


	3. Barbecue

~ BARBECUE ~ (Adam/Connie)  
"Left, right, left, right," Adam whispered to himself as he pumped his rhythmically. It was barely six o'clock in the morning; the sky was a dim gray. Adam was out for his usual morning skate. There wasn't much traffic at this time of day, so he could skate in the middle of the road and weave about as he pleased. Adam loved skating. He loved the way the wind swept his hair aside, loved the way his legs moved rhythmically, loved the way he seemed to fly when he was on wheels.  
  
Adam skated back through the gates of Eden Hall, and past the Green, so-named because it was a large square patch of grass that lay at the center of Eden Hall grounds. There were already workers setting up the barbecue grills, for the Labor Day barbecue that was coming up later in the day. Adam took a shortcut between two buildings and reached the dormitory. He skated into the elevator, pressed his floor, sat down, and began taking off his roller skates. By the time the doors slid open to his floor, Adam had already taken off his skates. Carrying his skates, Adam walked back to his dorm room.  
  
Charlie was slumbering heavily in his bed when Adam walked in. Adam was careful to shut and set his skates aside quietly. Charlie was always irritable in the morning. Adam sat back in the chair at the computer desk. He pulled out "The Great Gatsby", his summer reading homework. He had one and a half chapter left. Adam began reading.  
  
"Man…what are you doing? Reading at this hour?" Charlie was awake. He propped himself up on his elbow and stared at Adam with half-open eyes.  
  
"Summer reading. I haven't finished all of it yet." Adam said, waving the book at Charlie.  
  
"Oh…that." Charlie rolled out of bed. "I wouldn't worry about it if I were you, Banksie."  
  
"You've finished already?" Adam raised his eyebrows, obviously impressed.  
  
"Of course not! I've got cliff notes. Banksie, I'm thinkin' you don't know me." Charlie grinned as he walked into the dresser. "Ow…see ya in a few minutes, Banksie." Charlie stumbled into the bathroom. It took a full half an hour before Charlie had showered and actually looked awake. "Ah…what a beautiful morning. Banksie, I can't understand how you manage to get up that early every morning to skate…but I really do appreciate your talent in not needing an alarm clock. It'd suck if I had to wake up that early every morning, too."  
  
Adam laughed. "Yeah, I first taught myself to do this when Averman kept threatening to smash my alarm clock in at the Junior Goodwill Games."  
  
"Ah…Team USA. The USA Mighty Ducks." Charlie stretched. "Those were some good times, weren't they?"  
  
Adam smiled, nodding. He could still see vividly the goal that he scored for the tiebreaker. Many professional scouts had seen it, seen him make one of his best goals. It was thanks to that goal, plus Bombay's excellent words, that had scouts still contacting him and his father. "By the way Charlie, it was thanks to you that I got to play in the final game." Adam said. He was eternally grateful to Charlie for his sacrifice.  
  
"That was nothing." Charlie said with a wave of his hand, but he looked pleased all the same. "Hey, Banksie, you wanna know something?"  
  
"Know what?"  
  
"I think I'm falling for her again."  
  
"Linda Chavez?" Adam grinned.  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"I knew it. You should've seen the way you were staring at her yesterday. It's the first time I can remember that Captain Conway ran out of things to say." Adam laughed.  
  
"Shut-up. We need to get breakfast." Charlie rolled out of bed.  
  
Adam and Charlie made their way to the mess hall. Adam sat down next to Guy at the Ducks' table, while Charlie immediately departed to join Linda and a small group of her friends.  
  
"What the hell is Charlie doing?" Guy shook his head. "He should be sitting with the Ducks. After all, today's the first day the Mess Hall's open."  
  
"Isn't it obvious? Charlie's gonna get together with Linda again. She's got him wrapped around her little finger." Goldberg said while pushing a piece of toast into his mouth.  
  
"Captain of the Eden Hall Varsity hockey team is whipped." Russ shook his head. Averman made a snapping motion with his arm that sounded surprisingly like a whip.  
  
"Don't say that," Julie rolled her eyes. "Linda's a sweet girl and I think Charlie really likes her. After all, their relationship was pretty intense a few years back."  
  
"It was, wasn't it? I wonder how long it'll take them to get back together." Connie said thoughtfully, digging into her sunny side up egg, causing the yolk to overflow. "Yuck, the yolk is still runny."  
  
"I bet they're gonna get married as soon as they get out of high school." Louis nodded.  
  
"Ew, don't be gross." Ken wrinkled his nose.  
  
"What's wrong with marrying after high school?" Dwayne asked.   
  
"Texas boy," Russ stared at Dwayne with pity. "You're so out of it."  
~  
"Adam's gorgeous, isn't he?" Julie sighed as Connie sat beside her. The two girls were sitting at a picnic table under the shade of a large tree in the Green. Both their plates were piled high with the food offered at the Labor Day barbecue. Connie looked in the direction where Julie was staring. Adam, Guy, and Averman were playing Frisbee with a few other Eden Hall boys.  
  
"Coordinated, too." Connie added, watching as Adam jumped gracefully into the air to catch the Frisbee. "Not many guys can do that without falling on their face." Connie opened her bag of potato chips, and munched. "So tell me Jules, how come you haven't gotten together with Banksie yet?"  
  
"I don't know…it's just…he's always surrounded by girls." Julie shook her head.  
  
"Hey! Since when is the Cat afraid of competition?" Connie nudged her friend.  
  
"Since the prize was Banksie." Julie replied playfully.  
  
"Well, there really is no competition, if you ask me." Connie said, nodding to herself. Adam and Guy had just sat down at a table, and immediately a group of girls had already joined them, giggling and flipping their hair. "Just look at those girls, Julie. They're all girlie, giggly, whimpy, nothing like you."  
  
"Adam seems to like them."  
  
"I think you need glasses. It's GUY that enjoys this kind of thing." Connie rolled her eyes. Guy had strayed from her the moment they arrived at Eden Hall and he found himself surrounded by giggly girls. 'Well,' Connie thought with a toss of her head. 'If giggly is the kind of girl that Guy likes…then let him like it.' 


	4. Party

i"Please, play a little with me."/i - Stanson  
  
~ PARTY ~ (Guy/Julie/Connie)  
"Is this party being thrown by the cheerleaders?" Goldberg asked as he slipped on his sneakers.  
  
"Yup." Guy nodded. "It's technically a party to welcome the new freshmen cheerleaders, but Natasha and Alexis, the two captains, are determined to hook up with the hockey captain and the MVP, so the entire hockey team is invited as well."  
  
"So that's what? Fifteen varsity cheerleaders, twenty-nine JV, and around ten freshmen?" Goldberg said.  
  
"Plus eleven of us…" Guy did the math. "The ratio is about what…one guy to five cheerleaders?"  
  
"Yahoo!" Goldberg cried. "Hurry up, Guy."  
  
"I'm coming…" Guy said. He gave himself one last look in the mirror, added a spritz of Ralph Lauren for men, and exited. He and Goldberg made their way across the campus to where the girls' dorms were. Even though students of different genders weren't allowed to go into each other's dorms, the girls' dorm security was lax enough to let boys go by all the time. Guy and Goldberg took the elevator to the top floor. (The party was being held in the common room at the top floor.)  
  
The cheerleaders were already congregated, including the ten freshmen Guy had never laid eyes on but liked instantly. The only boys there so far were Charlie and Adam, who were always punctual. Robin was already snuggling up to Adam on the couch, smiling at him while warning the other girls away. Charlie was surrounded by the rest of the cheerleaders.  
  
"Heya Charlie," Guy strutted into the middle of the circle. "Lemme relieve some of your burden." He whispered in Charlie's ear.  
~  
"Oh my God…I have to get a grip on myself." Connie said while shaking her head. "I just blew an entire three months' spending money in one afternoon."  
  
"Don't worry, the outfits are cute…you used them for good causes." Julie said, though she secretly agreed that Connie needed to control her impulsive shopping ways. After three hours at the mall, Connie was carrying so many shopping bags in her arms that she could barely see, while Julie had only purchased a shirt from Gap.  
  
"They are, aren't they?" Connie said thoughtfully.  
  
Julie stopped and held open the door to the girls' dorm for Connie. To Julie's surprise, Dwayne and Russ were on his heels. "What are you two doing here?" Julie asked in surprise. Boys never came to the dorm unless there were parties, and Julie hadn't heard of any parties being thrown that night.  
  
"For the cheerleaders' party." Russ said.  
  
"Oh," Julie rolled her eyes. The cheerleaders were forever throwing parties, usually with the male sports teams as the only people invited.  
  
"Are you two coming?" Dwayne asked.  
  
Julie and Connie laughed. "Why'd we go to a cheerleader party?" Julie asked. "Besides, we're not even invited."  
  
"You are!" Dwayne dug in his pocket and held out a pink invitation to Julie. Julie read it:  
  
iTo: The Eden Hall Hockey Team  
What: A party!  
When: 8 p.m.  
Where: Common Room at the Top Floor of Girls' Dorm  
Why: To welcome the freshmen cheerleaders!/i  
  
"I don't think the invitation extended to the girls' hockey team members." Russ said, shrugging. Julie nodded.  
  
"Oh, ain't that a shame. I'll see you girls at practice, then." Dwayne shrugged. He and Russ entered the elevator.  
  
"The nerve of those cheerleaders!" Connie said, puffing up like a insulted rooster. "I'll bet the only reason they invited the hockey team is because that slut Natasha Crowe couldn't figure out a way to invite Charlie alone!"  
  
"Not to mention Alexis Jones is after Adam." Julie added glumly. "But you know…the invitation didn't /i that the girls of the hockey team are exempt from the party…"  
  
Connie grinned at Julie. "You mean…go anyway?"  
  
"That's right." Julie smiled.  
  
"You're brilliant, Julie!" Connie exclaimed. "And it'll be the perfect opportunity to show off our new clothes."  
  
"C'mon, let's go." Julie tossed the invitation over her shoulder.  
  
The invitation was found a few minutes later, by Angie Woodsworth, twin sister of the freckle-faced JV captain. "A party!" Angie exclaimed. "For the hockey team!" She hurried to her dorm and called her brother.  
~  
"Ready?" Connie grinned at Julie.  
  
"Ready." Julie nodded. Together, they slammed open the doors to the common room. The loud slam could be heard, even over the loud music that was being blasted.  
  
"What are you doing here? This is for the hockey team!" Natasha Crowe asked indignantly.  
  
"We're on the hockey team, smarty." Julie said crisply. Natasha could only stand aside, looking angry but helpless, as Julie and Connie made their way inside. They sat down on an empty sofa, and sat and observed the scene. The cheerleaders were all over Connie's teammates. Adam and Charlie were talking solely to Alexis and Natasha, (Connie assumed the two head cheerleaders had warned everyone else away); Averman was cracking jokes to a cheerleader that actually seemed to think they were funny; Goldberg was chugging a beer by the refreshment table with some girls; several cheerleaders were feeling Fulton and Dean's arm muscles; Dwayne and Ken, the shy guys, were talking to a couple of innocent-looking freshmen; and in the center of it all was Louis and Guy, each with several cheerleaders hanging onto them.  
  
"Disgusting." Connie whispered to Julie.  
  
"Tell me about it." Julie rolled her eyes.  
  
Connie sat back for a few minutes more, then she stood up. "Come on Julie, let's go."  
  
"Go where?" Julie stood up slowly.  
  
"Let's go have a chat with Adam and Charlie. I'm not going to let you lose to Alexis without a fight." Connie gripped Julie's arm.  
  
"Oh for goodness' sakes, Connie." Julie uttered an exasperated sigh, but she followed Connie across the room.  
  
"Hey Charlie, hey Adam!" Connie greeted, faking enthusiasm. "Hi Natasha! Hi Alexis!"  
  
Natasha and Alexis both uttered hellos which clearly showed they didn't enjoy Connie and Julie's company in the least bit. "So what are you all talking about?" Connie asked.  
  
"Oh…Banksies and I were just telling Natasha and Alexis the basic story of the Ducks." Charlie said.  
  
"Pray tell, what part are you on?" Connie fluttered her eyelashes, hoping to seem eccentric.  
  
"Um…the Junior Goodwill Games." Adam replied.  
  
"Oh…that's where Julie first joined us!" Connie found the perfect opportunity to insert Julie into the conversation. "Do you remember that first day when we all met each other?"  
  
Julie laughed. "I thought you guys were the worst group of players I'd ever seen."  
  
"That's not surprising, considering none of us had practiced during the summer except for Banksies." Charlie said.  
  
"Yeah, I thought you were amazing, though, Julie." Adam nodded. "I mean, you were ten times faster and better than Goldberg, no offense to him or anything."  
  
"Thanks." Julie blushed. Connie beamed broadly. After steering the conversation onto more topics that lost Natasha and Alexis, Connie headed toward the refreshment table for some chips and dip. She passed Guy on the way, who looked drunk, just like the two cheerleaders giggling and sitting in his lap.  
  
"Connie!" Guy called.  
  
"Hi Guy." Connie said. Connie knew that Guy never managed to stay sober at a single party where there was beer. Guy stood up abruptly, causing the two cheerleaders on his lap to fall back on the couch. The two girls giggled hysterically.  
  
"You look good." Guy grinned, leaning closer in for a kiss.  
  
"Please Guy, we're not a couple anymore." Connie rolled her eyes.  
  
"Not even one for old times' sake?" Guy pleaded. "C'mon Connie, you're the hottest girl at Eden Hall."  
  
Connie smiled. She felt secretly flattered that Guy still thought her the most attractive girl around. "Thanks, but no thanks."  
  
"How 'bout we just stick with thanks." Guy stepped forward and pressed his lips against Connie's.  
  
"How 'bout NOT!" Connie pushed him away, but he came on again.  
  
"Since when did you turn into a square?" Despite Connie's refusal, Guy stepped forward again.  
  
"Guy, I think you need to ease off Connie, there." Charlie appeared out of nowhere and stuck an arm in front of Guy.  
  
"She's turned into a square!" Guy pointed an accusing finger toward Connie.  
  
"Me! You're the one that's turned into a manwhore!" Connie replied indignantly.  
  
"Okay, I think you both need to calm down. Germaine, I think those two girls are missing you." Charlie said. Muttering under his breath, Guy sat down back on the couch. "Moreau," Charlie turned back to Connie. "Don't you think you were a bit harsh in the name-calling?"  
  
"Look at him! He /i a manwhore." Connie protested, pointing to Guy, who was already making out with one of the cheerleaders on the couches.  
  
Charlie snickered at this. "Well…as long as it doesn't affect teamwork out on the ice."  
  
"It won't." Connie sniffed, flipping her hair over her shoulder. She had too much class than to duke it out with some ex-boyfriend during a hockey game.  
  
"I think you need to cool down, Connie. Come on, let's take a walk." Charlie held open the door.  
  
Shrugging, Connie followed. They took the elevators downstairs, and walked out of the girls' dormitory. Connie took a deep whiff of the cool night air. She felt her tempers drop. It wasn't as if Guy had never /i this way before; it was simply part of his personality.  
  
"So what's the deal with you and Guy?" Charlie asked curiously. "I mean, I thought you guys broke up freshman year?"  
  
"We did." Connie nodded. "But you know him…when he's drunk, he'll even make a pass at a cow."  
  
"And you are FAR more attractive than a cow." Charlie grinned.  
  
"Thanks…if that was a compliment." Connie said. She wasn't sure just how much more attractive than a cow Charlie thought she was.  
  
"It is." Charlie laughed.  
  
Just then, a group of chattering boys walked past. "Heya Conway! Takin' a little walk with your girlfriend?" Connie recognized the freckle-faced boy as the captain of the obnoxious JV team. Charlie didn't respond, but scowled at them.  
  
"Buh-bye!" Snickering, the JV team moved along.  
  
"Already on their way to the girls' dormitory?" Charlie shook his head. "Those freshmen don't waste anytime, do they?"  
  
"Talk for yourself, Charlie. Do you remember when we were freshmen, and you immediately chased after Linda? Of course, you still are." Connie added teasingly.  
  
"Oh be quiet, Moreau." Charlie pushed her playfully.  
  
i(If you have any comments, suggestions, etc. Please tell me about it through your review. Thank you!)/i 


	5. Party Crashers

"Ding. Round one." – Goldberg  
  
~ PARTY CRASHERS ~ (Charlie)  
"No! You weren't invited!" Natasha's shrill voice shrieked.  
  
"What are you talking about? It says HOCKEY TEAM on the invitation."  
  
Charlie looked up across the room where Natasha was having trouble playing bouncer for the second time during the night. Natasha was standing with her hands on her hips, glaring indignantly at the JV team at the door. With chagrin,   
  
"Those were the boys that don't waste anytime." Connie whispered to Charlie. Charlie nodded, and began walking toward the JV team. "Where are you going?"  
  
"To help Natasha." Charlie responded. "What's the problem here?" He asked in his most authoritative manner, the kind he put on when lecturing the team. (The manner where the rest of the team would sit and pretend to listen while holding back laughter.)  
  
"THEY'RE most DEFINITELY not invited!" Natasha pointed an accusing finger at the JV team.  
  
"We are too!" The only girl on the team cried out, in a voice nearly as shrill as Natasha's. She was a short, snub-nosed creature, nothing like the female hockey players that Charlie was used to (nowhere near as attractive as drop-dead-gorgeous Moreau or girl-next-door Gaffney).  
  
"Look, the invitation says hockey team." The captain of the JV team held up one of Natasha's pink and white invitations. "Unless you indicated, which you didn't, this invitation applies to ALL hockey players, nothing about JV or Varsity requirements."  
  
Charlie frowned and bit his bottom lip. He had to admit that the JV captain had a logical argument, but he was reluctant to give up because he didn't want to see the JV triumph, nor did he want to lose out on the action Natasha would surely be giving later on. "Yeah, but some things you ought to have common sense for," Charlie said with a wave of his hand. "Go away, or we'll call dorm security."  
  
"And what'll that do?" The captain placed his hands on his hips. "You think they won't notice all the Varsity hockey guys hanging up here, too?"  
  
Charlie paused. The kid had a point there. "Can't you just go?" Natasha was pleading.  
  
"No. Not until we right the wrongs and make the unfairs fair." The girl said.  
  
"She talks as diplomatically as you, Conway." Averman snickered.  
  
"Shut-up Averman," Charlie rolled his eyes. This wasn't a time for Averman to make fun of him and undermine his authority right in front of the unruly JV captain. "Go, before I make you."  
  
"Just you?" The captain scoffed. "I doubt even Captain Conway can take on the entire team."  
  
"No. I'll have the other members to help me." Charlie said, which he realized in an instant was a mistake. Louis and Guy were drunk, and making out with drunk cheerleaders on the couch. The only people that were in any state to fight was Connie and Julie. Though Charlie suspected that the two girls would put up a good fight, it sure as hell wouldn't look impressive to the JV team.  
  
"You might want to whip them into shape before challenging anyone to a fight."  
  
"Oh?" Charlie knew what the JV captain had said was right, but he wasn't about to back down now. "Mind telling me just exactly what I need to do?"  
  
"Well…" the freckle-faced captain began a slow stroll about the room, stopping at each member of the hockey team. "Goldberg here needs to go on a diet, maybe get on a treadmill, though I doubt he could stay on long." Goldberg dropped the bag of chips he had been munching on.  
  
"Robertson and Wu are pacifists. They play like ninnys on the ice, anyway."  
  
"Hey! I'm the Little Smash Brother!" Ken protested indignantly.  
  
"Yeah well…you're nothing without Portman and Reed…who need to cut down on their intake of illegal substances." The captain patted Fulton and Dean on the head. Neither of them responded, they were staring with glazed eyes at a crack in the ceiling.  
  
"Averman needs muscles. My sister can take him." The JV captain pinched Averman's thin arm.  
  
"Hey! Keep your hands to yourself!" Averman snapped, and poured himself another glass of punch.  
  
"Gladly." The JV captain grinned snidely. "Mendoza and Germaine are nowhere to be found…I don't doubt both of them are in some girl's room right now, enjoying themselves. And then, there are the three girls left, Moreau, Gaffney, and Banks. I hate to say it Conway, but the JV team has too much honor to fight girls."  
  
"Don't insult me and Julie!" Connie spoke up angrily. "And don't insult Adam, either."  
  
"Charlie! Get this little shrimp out of here! I've had enough of his rambling!" Natasha placed her hands on her hips.  
  
"Yeah Conway, let's see you herd the JV team out." The captain snickered. Charlie tried to stand as tall as he could, and make himself look as imposing as he could. He took a step closer. Connie, Julie, and Adam were behind him, flanking him.  
  
Charlie didn't know what happened, but suddenly Connie had the JV girl in a deadlock and was shrieking, "My hair! You little JV brat! You put gum in my hair!" And then everything else erupted in chaos.  
  
The JV captain jumped on Charlie's back, Adam held another JV boy still while Julie pulled up his boxers into a wedgie, Natasha was whacking someone with her purse. Even the other Varsity members in the room had worked themselves up enough to do some help.  
  
Charlie bent over and tried to throw the captain off. But he was like a monkey, clinging onto Charlie like wet clothing. Charlie then backed as fast as he could into a wall, in hopes of maybe squashing the kid. All he managed to do was knock down a photograph. Charlie was about to lie down, when the security arrived and broke everything off. They were given a strict lecturing, then told that their parents would be notified, and they would be serving two weeks' worth of after-school detentions for fighting in addition to being in the girls' dormitory. After that, they were dispersed.  
  
Charlie, it seemed, had come off best in the fight. He wasn't even scratched, while Adam was covered with bruises where a particularly large JV player had decided to kick him in the shins, Julie had a bloody nose. ("Don't fight girls my ass!") Connie definitely came off the worse. She was covered with scratches from the JV girl's sharp nails, and her hair was now tangled by the gum that had started the fight.  
  
"It's all going to have come off." Connie said sadly, holding out her mangled hair in front of her.  
  
"Don't worry, you'll look good with shorter hair." Adam reassured.  
  
"The long hair didn't look that great anyway." Charlie added, before he could think about what was coming out of his mouth. Looking extremely offended, Connie exited to her room without any further words. "Dammit, women. Damn the JV team, too." Charlie muttered as he and Adam made their way across campus to the boys' dorm. 


	6. A Real Date

"Duck hockey, Connie." --Charlie—  
  
~ A REAL DATE ~ (Julie)  
"It's gone, all gone." Connie said, shaking her head sadly as she and Julie exited from the barber shop.  
  
"Come on Connie, it looks good. A really refreshing change." Julie said earnestly. She thought Connie looked just as good with chin-length hair instead of waist-length hair. "You're lucky…you could've had to get a crew cut or something."  
  
Connie grinned. "Good point."  
  
They went back to Eden Hall, and had just closed their dorm door behind them when there was a knock on it. "I don't want anyone to see my hair!" Connie squeaked and jumped in the bathroom, slamming the door.  
  
"Who is it?" Julie asked.  
  
"It's Charlie and Banksie!"  
  
"Relax Connie," Julie called to the bathroom door. "It's just Charlie and Adam."  
  
"Oh." Connie came out of the bathroom. "I guess you can open the door then."  
  
Julie pulled open the door. Charlie and Adam grinned. Adam was holding a batch of flowers in his hand. Julie felt her heart skip a beat. "Hi," she mumbled, feeling like an idiot.  
  
"Hey Julie, hey Connie," Adam grinned. He held out the flowers to Connie. "Here you go." Julie felt her stomach drop like someone had filled it with stones.  
  
"Oh…" Connie looked confused.  
  
"It's to say sorry about your hair." Charlie explained. "I know you haven't cut it for a long time, and we weren't really nice about it last night, either. The new hair-cut looks nice, though."  
  
"Well…thanks." Connie grinned.  
  
"C'mon, we're also going for pizza." Adam said.  
  
"All right, we haven't had dinner yet." Connie shrugged at Julie. The four of them walked to Adam's car. Julie and Connie climbed in the back. "Wait, is this like a date?" Connie asked. Julie raised her eyebrows at Connie. She had no idea where Connie was going with this.  
  
"It was supposed to be." Charlie shrugged. "Only Guy um…well, he didn't want to go…so I had to take his place. It can still be a date, I guess, if you want."  
  
"Of course. So that would be me and you, and Julie and Adam." Connie said.  
  
"Yup." Adam nodded, and his eyes met Julie's in the rearview mirror. "I'll have to warn you, Julie, I haven't been on a real date in months."  
  
"What a date, huh?" Connie said, and she nudged Julie.  
  
They went to a pizza parlor for dinner, and Connie made a big show about Julie and Adam sitting next to each other. In the end, Julie found Charlie and Connie jabbering away, leaving her and Adam to make their own conversation.  
  
"So…" Julie said, and before she could stop herself, blurted out, "Is this really the first date you've been on in months?"  
  
Adam laughed and nodded. "Pathetic, isn't it?"  
  
"Not really. The last time I went out was with Scooter." Julie offered.  
  
"No kidding!" Adam glanced at her with an eyebrow raised. "Didn't you guys break up like, a year ago?" Julie nodded, feeling herself turn bright red. "Wow…that's worse than me…I meant that in a good way." Adam added hastily. Julie couldn't help but laugh.  
  
After the pizza they went to a roller skating arena, where Connie forced Julie and Adam to go on during couple's skate. (Julie pretended to protest, but she really enjoyed it, since she got to hold Adam's hand during a dopey Celine Dion love song.) By the time Julie and Connie made their way back to their dorm, Julie was in a near-swoon.  
  
"That was a good date, wasn't it?" Connie said as she flopped onto her bed.  
  
"Mhmm…" Julie murmured dreamily.  
  
"Finally you and Adam are getting together. I'm telling you, this is what's meant to happen all along." Connie said sleepily.  
  
"Yeah, now you and Guy just need to get back together again." Julie replied.  
  
"Nah…me and Guy are old news. Never gonna happen again." Connie turned over on her bed. "Me and Charlie are more likely than me and Guy."  
  
"Charlie?" Julie sat up straight and gaped at Connie.  
  
"Yup." Connie propped herself up on an elbow. "He's really cute, you know. Tall, too. Not like Guy."  
  
For some reason, Julie found the last sentence, funny, and she began laughing. Connie joined in, and the two girls laughed for a long, long time. 


End file.
